Attachable-detachable mobile computing &amp; sound producing shoe accessory

ABSTRACT

An attachable-detachable accessory for shoes which includes a curved member having first and second arms biased toward each other to enable attachment of the accessory to the heel of a shoe. The curved member carries an appropriate speaker and a digital control medium and a control circuit, therefore along with an appropriate battery and switch control means for activating the digital storage medium to produce desired audio.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates generally to shoes and more particularly to an accessory that hosts cellular, GPS and/or computing technology and also has technology that produces audio signals and which is attachable to and detachable from a shoe.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

For a number of years articles of foot wear have been developed which have incorporated into the foot wear audio devices which provide music or other sound effects. Typically the speakers and the audio circuitry including the appropriate memory devices are built directly into and form a part of the shoe such as being incorporated into the side walls or the tongue of the shoe. Alternatively in some instances the shoe is designed to have formed therein a cavity or a channel which extends into the sole or heel of the shoe and receives a module containing various parts of the audio producing structure. In some instances a pocket or similar receptacle is formed in a side wall of the shoe which retains the module which contains the sound producing audio module. In shoes designed in this fashion where the speaker is mounted either on the tongue of the shoe or within an audio module that is retained in the pocket or other receptacle on the side of the shoe or into a cavity or opening formed in the sole of the shoe, the speakers are extremely limited in size which compromises the sound volume and quality which can be achieved. It will be recognized by those skilled in the art that to produce shoes of this type requires additional manufacturing effort and adds costs and also when the shoe is worn to a degree such that it is no longer wearable and must be discarded then typically the voice producing modules designed and incorporated into the shoe are also discarded along with the shoe.

There is thus needed an accessory which may be attached to a shoe as desired by the user and that also may be detached when it is not desired to have the audio producing capability or alternatively to move the audio producing capability from one pair of shoes to a different pair of shoes.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An attachable shoe accessory including a curved member having first and second arms which are biased toward each other and shaped to be received on the heel portion of a shoe, a speaker, a battery, switch means and a digital storage medium and control circuit therefore carried by the curved member such that the control circuit when activated by the switch applies audio from the digital storage medium to the speaker.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic representation of a curved member constructed in accordance with the principals of the present invention;

FIG. 2 illustrates the curved member of FIG. 1 attached to the heel portion of a shoe;

FIG. 3 illustrates the curved member of the present invention with a retainer connected thereto; and

FIG. 4 illustrates the structure of FIG. 3 incorporated into the shoe of the wearer.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring now more particularly to FIG. 1, there is shown a curved member 10 having a first arm 12 and a second arm 14, which are interconnected together by a bight 16. The curved member 10 may be constructed of any material desired, however, in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention the member 10 is constructed of a flexible molded plastic material such as polyvinylcholoride with the arms 12 and 14 being biased toward each other so that when the curved member 10 is attached to the heel of the shoe of a wearer there is sufficient force to grip the heel portion of the shoe and hold the curved member 10 in place on the heel of the shoe of the wearer.

The curved member 10 is constructed in such a manner as to carry the various components to produce an audio signal and/or hosts cellular, GPS and/or computing technology. For example as shown schematically in FIG. 1, a speaker 18 is attached to the member 10, such for example, on the interconnection between the arm 12 and the bight 16. The speaker 18 is mounted in opening provided in the curved member 10 and attached to the curved member 10 by fasteners (not shown), adhesives, being snapped into a groove provided in the curved member, or any other fastening means so that the speaker 18 is securely positioned upon the curved member 10. It would be recognized by those skilled in the art that a speaker of reasonable size can be carried by the curved member 10 and would thus provide reasonably good volume and quality of audio.

A digital storage medium and cellular, computing, GPS and the control circuit for the digital storage medium as shown at 20 are attached to the curved member 10, such for example, as between the arm 14 and the bight 16 as shown in FIG. 1. Again the storage medium and the control circuit 20 may be inserted into an opening provided in the curved member 10 or otherwise affixed to the member 10 by being attached by any means desired such as an adhesive, fasteners (not shown), snapped into a groove provided in the curved member, or the like. An appropriate electrical connection 22 is provided between the storage medium and control circuit 20 and the speaker so that the audio produced would be transmitted to the speaker. In order to download the desired audio signal to the digital storage medium there is provided an additional electrical connector 24 which is attached to the digital storage medium contained at 20 and is also be connected to a port 26. The port 26 is adapted to be connected to a computer or similar other device which would be adapted to download the desired music or other audio signal to the digital storage medium contained at 20, as would be clearly understood by the skilled in the art. The port may also include additional electrical connections to provide the ability to recharge a battery 28 which is also carried by the curved member 10. The battery 28 would also be attached to the curved member in any manner desired as above described in conjunction with the speaker and the digital storage medium and control circuit for it. Thus, it may be inserted within an opening provided in the curved member 10 such as in the arm 14 or attached directly thereto. A switch means 30 is also provided to interconnect the battery 28 and the control circuit contained at 20. The switch means 30 may be any switch means known to the art, such for example, an on/off switch which may be activated by the user or alternatively activated by the application of a force generated by pressure or motion such as the walking or running by the user while , wearing a shoe to which the accessory of the present invention is attached. Additionally and in accordance with one preferred embodiment of the present invention, the switch means 30 may be remotely controlled by the user in a manner well known to those skilled in the art such as by a transmission of a radio frequency signal or the like. In addition, as part of the control circuit there would be included a volume control and the volume control could also be remotely controlled by the user with an appropriate remote control unit.

By reference now more particularly to FIG. 2, there is illustrated the curved member as shown at 10 in FIG. 1, which has been covered by an appropriate material, such as a fabric or a foam plastic or the like which would serve to both hide the various components carried by the curved member 10 and also to protect them from the elements. As is shown in FIG. 2, the completed unit 32 is attached to the heel portion of a shoe 34. The unit 32 may be detachable simply by removing it from the heel of the shoe and thus it can be connected to a computer through the port 26 for the purpose of downloading or changing the audio content on the digital storage medium and also would be connected to the appropriate electrical source to recharge the battery 28. As can be seen by reference to FIG. 2, the completed accessory 32 may easily be attached to or detached from the heel of the shoe and moved thusly from shoe to shoe as desired.

In some instances it may be desired to more clearly secure the accessory 32 in place on a shoe and assure that even if there are large forces applied to the shoe, such as by running, walking, jumping or the like that the accessory cannot be detached. For this purpose as is shown in FIG. 3 to which reference is hereby made, there is provided a retainer 36 which is secured to the arms 12 and 14. As is illustrated in FIG. 3, the retainer is a flexible member which includes a central section 38 having a sufficient length to fit it within the shoe and to receive the foot of the user to thus secure the curved member to the heel of the shoe. The retainer 36 may constructed of any material desired, such as fabric or an elastic type material. As is illustrated in FIG. 3, the retainer 36 is secured to the cover which is placed around the curved member 10.

As is shown in FIG. 4, to which reference is hereby made. The retainer fits internally of the shoe such that the foot of the wearer when inserted into the shoe sits upon the central section 38 of the retainer to thus secure the accessory 32 in place on the heel of the shoe.

In accordance with another embodiment of the invention, the control circuit may also include blue tooth technology which would allow the audio stored on the digital control medium to be connected to headphones or ear plugs worn by the user, such for example as shown at 40 in FIG. 4.

There has thus been disclosed an accessory for a shoe which may be attached to the shoe or detached from the shoe and which when activated either manually or remotely produces a desired audio signal which has been stored upon a digital storage medium carried by the accessory and activated by an appropriate control circuit. 

What is claimed as new and desired to be protected by Letters Patent of the United States is:
 1. An attachable-detachable accessory for shoes comprising: (a) A curved member having first and second arms interconnected by a bight, said first and second arms being biased toward each other, said member being shaped to be received on the heel portion of a shoe, said bias being sufficient to grip said heel portion of said shoe; (b) A digital storage medium and control circuit therefore carried by said member for receiving audio; (c) A speaker carried by said curved member and connected to said digital storage medium; (d) A port in said curved member communicating with said digital storage medium for down loading audio to said digital storage medium; (e) A battery mounted within said curved member; (f) Switch means mounted in said member and connected between said battery and said control circuit to apply electrical energy from said battery to said digital storage medium to play said audio; (g) Cellular technology to make and receive calls, connect to the Internet, send messages; (h) GPS technology to track and/or identify the location of the device; and (i) Computing technology to process information, data, sounds, and other computer functions
 2. An accessory as defined in claim 1, which further includes a retainer connected to said curved member for positioning internally of the shoe for securing the curved member in place on the heel of the shoe.
 3. An accessory as defined in claim 2, wherein said retainer is a flexible member connected to said first and second arms.
 4. An accessory as defined in claim 3, wherein said retainer includes a central section of sufficient length to fit within said shoe and receive the foot of the user for securing said curved member to the heel of the shoe.
 5. An accessory as defined in claim 4, which said curved member is a flexible molded plastic member.
 6. An accessory as defined in claim 5, wherein said speaker, said storage medium, said switch and said battery are mounted to said molded plastic member. 